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Adapted guitar is another area in which I’ve had to expand my bag of tricks. Clients constantly inspire me to create new resources that help them learn and grow. As a result, I have developed this resource for teaching the blues in an adapted guitar lesson. The song includes melodic cues as to when and where to switch chords, and is accompanied by a colored chord chart. In some cases, I have used matching stickers on a guitar to show where to play each chord, with colors that correspond to the ones used on the song sheet. The blues are a fun and adaptable way to teach beginning guitar! The student only needs to learn two chord shapes, then they are moved between the frets to make various chords. You can see from the picture below how the shape for A7 and B7 is constant.

Blues chords.jpg

The chord and lyric sheet is attached below. In true blues fashion, verses could be added by you or the student to prolong the song.

Blues.jpg

-Becca

I have started teaching adapted ukulele lessons, and over the past couple of months have developed some materials for teaching young children. This song uses the percussive elements of the instrument to imitate the sounds of a train. The rest of the song is used to practice transitioning between chords and can be altered to do some songwriting with your clients.

The song begins by muting the strings of the ukulele (of guitar) and making the “chugga, chugga” in 16th notes for four measures of 4 to imitate the sound of a train. The “choo, choo” sound is made by playing the strings above the fret board but below the tuning pegs.

Percussion Uke.jpg

The rest of the song uses three chords. It is a fun and easy way for children to start to learn an instrument! The lyrics can also be changed to accommodate different interests (i.e. the princess train or the animal train). Below is a chart for the ukulele chords. The ukulele is an easy way to learn the basics of guitar. It has only four strings and so requires the use of less fingers at a time. It is a wonderful introductory instrument and great for all ages!

Ukulele Chords

Railroad Song
Becca Paoni

(Percussion break – 2x)

Verse 1:

C
Train is starting down the track

C
There’s no turning back

F
Going down the railroad

C                        G G F F
Nice and slow

C
Here we go!

Verse 2:

C
Train is coming down the line

C
Getting there by nine

F
Going down the railroad

C                        G (slide to) F
Pretty fast

C
Just like that!

Bridge:

F
When we get

C
To our stop

F
We won’t walk

C
We will bop

G
As we rock

G
To the tune of a song!

Before starting my internship, most of the songwriting I had done with clients was in mental health populations – mostly adolescent and adult drug and alcohol rehab and clients with eating disorders.  It got very heavy at times, but was often extremely therapeutic and cathartic for many clients.  I believe this shaped my view of songwriting as something narrow and used primarily for deep, personal issues within therapy.  That being said, over the past 3 months I’ve come to view songwriting as an amazing expressive outlet for many young children with developmental disabilities.  Even simple song re-writing exercises (like “All you need is love” for Valentines Day) provide an opportunity for the client to make choices (MEFT – Musical Executive Functioning Training), exercising their executive functioning skills.

What I’ve come to observe, is that many clients with disabilities have the majority of things done for them by parents and caretakers.  When they are given a choice between two activities/songs/etc. they will choose, but when left with an open ended question like “What should we write a song about?” they often have a blank expression on their face and no idea where to start without being given suggestions of different ideas.  But once you help them get the ball rolling, they are full of ideas, imagination, and creativity and the end product is amazing!  For some clients, re-writing the words to a favorite song of theirs is the best bet because they have a clear idea of where the song is going and already enjoy how it sounds.  Other clients have the ability to help write (or independently write!) a chord progression/melody, and this is where you can challenge them to exercise their creativity.  Below is a helpful chart of chords to use in a variety of keys that can quickly spice up any songwriting session!

Somewriting tips

 

When writing songs with your clients, remember that every answer is valid!  As long as what the client suggests is appropriate and relevant, there is no better answer as to what to put in the lyrics than what they give you.  After all, it’s their creation and masterpiece and should have their unique personality written all over it.  If you can, think ahead about the wording of prompting questions you might ask your client in order to generate ideas.  It’s also helpful to think about the goal of the exercise – for example, is your client’s primarily reason for songwriting to express themselves or to practice decision making or leadership skills?  Determine what questions you will ask and how you will go about the process with their particular goal in mind.  If they are practicing leadership skills, let them lead you through the process and if they are struggling, challenge them to find a way to figure it out instead of offering a solution to them.  If their goal is self-expression, validate every answer they give you and do your best to reflect the sentiment of their words in the music you create.  It’s also always a fun idea to record your completed songs and give your client choices of what instruments to incorporate and how they’d like the finished product to sound.

I trust that the joy in your clients face when you play back the final version and they hear themselves singing and making music will be enough to fuel many more rewarding songwriting experiences in your sessions!

-Marissa

We all know those kiddos – even when they are (miraculously) sitting in their seat for more than 2 minutes at a time, they’re still squirming, sliding down in their chair or moving their body side to side.  They are constantly seeking to interact with their environment.  Or maybe you can relate to leading groups every week and feeling the urge to bring in something new and different for the clients to experience other than instruments.  Lucky for us, the world of Neurologic Music Therapy has an answer in 4 simple letters: MSOT.  Musical Sensory Orientation Training.

Thaut, in Rhythm, Music and the Brain, describes MSOT as follows:

“Musical Sensory Orientation Training (MSOT) is the use of music, presented live or recorded, to stimulate arousal and recovery of wake states and facilitate meaningful responsiveness and orientation to time, place, and person. In more advanced recovery of developmental stages, training would involve active engagement in simple musical exercises to increase vigilance and train basic attention maintenance with emphasis on quantity rather than quality of response (Ogata 1995).”

Let’s all say it together now: MSOT is my friend!  It is so important to ensure that our clients are learning to self-regulate and getting the sensory input that their bodies crave.  Sensory integration is a neurobiological process that refers to the integration and interpretation of sensory stimulation from the environment by the brain.  Individuals with developmental disabilities often have either over- or under- reactive sensory systems, which can mean sensory input from the environment is not being organized properly in the brain.  This makes the sensory experiences we as music therapists provide for them particularly important.  Below are several MSOT strategies I’ve recently been exploring with clients – the possibilities are endless!

  1. Cabasa – I never understood the power of the cabasa until internship.  It is an easy way to take a sensory “break” while keeping the music and instruments going throughout the activity.  For my non-verbal clients I use a simple “I want ____” visual and have them choose a body part (i.e. hands, arms, legs, back) for where they want the cabasa.  You can make up a simple song or chant about where you’re playing the cabasa and use a background loop to free up your hands to provide that input for the client.  You can also use this same format but instead give deep pressure squeezes and simply substitute the lyrics to “I like squeezes on my arms”.

I want visual

2. Therapy Ball – I love using the therapy ball because it’s a great way to incorporate sensory integration into whatever intervention you’re working on (like Bi-lateral drumming).  This targets the the Proprioceptive System – helping our clients understand where their body is in space.

3. Get Creative – Have fun with exploring MSOT strategies!  For adult groups, my co-intern and I have been enjoying bringing in essential oils (stimulating olfactory system), fun themed props for Spring Holidays (tactile), instruments like chimes, cabasa, and drums, bubbles, scarves, and scented squeeze balls.  I hope you’ll find that this brings a fun, novel element to your groups.

Music making (with an instrument) naturally stimulates 3 out of our 5 senses (auditory, tactile, and visual).  If you can add some type of olfactory element, we have 4 out of the 5 covered – a great goal to aim for while session planning.  It’s great to have a variety of MSOT strategies in your tool-belt in order to adapt to what your client needs in the moment – get creative and have fun with it!

-Marissa

Our team recently met to brainstorm essential teaching components, strategies, adaptations, accommodations, methods, and resources for teaching adapted lessons. I want to share with you what I learned in the article “Ten Characteristics for Teaching Students with Special Needs” by Beth A. Bauer.

  1. Consistency is crucial. This consistency applies to the rewards we provide, routine, schedule, home practice routines, time of day and location of the lesson,.
  2. Adaptability, find something that makes sense in their world. Examples include; using stress balls to teach hand positioning for piano, or creating fun mnemonic devices to learn the notes of lines and spaces in the music staff.
  3. Flexibility is a MUST. This flexibility pertains to lessons plans, studio setup and pacing of the lesson. Some days a student may come into the lesson after having a rough day at school and have a melt down. As the therapist “you need to find a way to work on something that will redirect the student away from whatever is bothering them and still be applicable to the lesson.”
  4. Setting Expectations “for students with special needs should be no different from the expectations and goals for students who do not have disabilities. By setting consistent, high expectations for everyone, the students know that we believe in them and that we know that they can be successful.”
  5. Patience, is your  best friend. Patience with repetition, multiple methods, reinforcement and redirection, and patience with getting to know your students.
  6. Compassion. Tell the parents of your students what their children CAN do instead of what they CANNOT do. Treat the child as a person first, without regard for a disability label. Focus on the positive aspects of the lesson, even when there is a meltdown, there is at least one positive aspect to find and share with the parent.
  7. Have a Sense of Humor.
  8. Learn from your mistakes. “We should always try our hardest but know that you will make mistakes. Mistakes are acceptable and the important lesson is that you learn from those mistakes.”
  9. Lose the Ego. Perfection is not everything, and it is not about the therapist. We will learn far more from our students than they will ever learn form us.
  10. Have FUN!!

 

-Kristin

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsABTmT1_M0&w=560&h=315]

Alright, alright… Parks and Recreation aside, never underestimate the power of self care!  Which was (conveniently enough) the topic of our symposium last week.  Although our discussion of self-care didn’t exactly include cupcakes and new clothes, we did discuss some very practical and helpful tips on taking care of your body for the long-run.

Whether it be exercising 3 times a week, taking a full day to relax and do no work, or catching a sunset at the beach, everybody has their own routine for decompressing and maintaining some balance (and sanity!) in their lives.  As music therapists, it is so important for us to take care of our bodies in order to be at our best with our clients every day, as well as preserve our health and well-being so we will still be as able at 50 (and up) as we were at 25.

In Kate Montgomery’s book, “End your Carpal Tunnel Pain without Surgery” she has coined a 12 step method of stretches and self-care exercises to maintain healthy joints and muscles.

self care book

Here are a few tips from her method to maintain health and function in important areas like the wrists, back, and fingers!

  1. Posture – It’s all about those 90 degree angles when it comes to posture. Bad habits in posture can cause recurrent minor injuries to the neck joints, so it’s so important to be aware of how you carry yourself throughout the day, whether it’s working at a desk or bending down to be on a client’s level, be mindful of keeping 90 degree angles in your back, neck, and legs.
  1. Wrists – There are 3 exercises for the muscles, tendons and joints in the wrist. Wrist presses, wrist pulls, and wrist squeezes.  Practicing these daily will help keep your wrists in alignment and free of pain.
  1. Fingers – What an important part of the body for music therapists! Finger exercises are done one at a time, practicing dexterity and isolation of each finger.  Finger pulls, circles, bends (at each of the three joints) are a few ways to help open and restore energy within the finger joints as well as maintain strength in each individual finger (which can be really helpful for guitar).

You can practice these exercises on your lunch break, at a stop light, or any time between clients in the office.  Make them a part of your self-care practices after exercising or while relaxing in order to maintain dexterity and full function of these important parts of our bodies!

 

-Marissa

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?”
— Benjamin Franklin

If someone asked you ‘What are your top strengths are how do you take advantage of them regularly?’ would you be able to give them a confident answer?  For many of us, it can be difficult to identify our areas of talent and even more difficult to make the most of them on a daily basis.  The MTCCA team uses a tool called StrengthsFinder 2.0 to categorize different strengths and better understand how to interact with others and become our best selves.

StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath is a small but mighty book!

strengthsfinder

After purchasing, you’ll receive an access code in order to complete an online assessment and discover your top 5 strength themes.  The book includes 34 strength themes such as Empathy, Achiever, Communication and Maximizer.  A list of the themes along with a short description can be found here.  StrengthsFinder 2.0 gives full descriptions of each strength theme, personal accounts from others who posses that strength, as well as some tips for communicating with others who may or may not have that same strength.  This aspect is especially helpful when working with a team of individuals.

During symposium, each of our staff members shared their top 5 strengths and how they play out most into our lives.  Seeing someone else’s talents categorized can you help you understand so much more about a person!  What I found to be most helpful about seeing everyone’s strengths was learning about what that person needs and how to best communicate with them.  I often find myself communicating with others in the way I would like or need for them to communicate with me, but many times this is not the most effective way for their learning style or personality.  For example, I have Input as a strength and enjoy knowing many details and lots of information about the task or situation at hand.  Being educated on the topic helps me feel like I am completing my job to the best of my ability.  However, someone who has Achiever as a strength would much rather get it done quickly and efficiently instead of spending time mulling over the details.  Understanding these differences in others can drastically improve communication, relationships, and outcomes in the workplace.  StrengthsFinder 2.0 is unique because it encourages individuals to take advantage of their strengths consistently instead of spending time trying to improve their weaknesses.  By focusing on our natural gifts and inclinations, we maximize our potential.

I encourage you to evaluate your own top strengths and determine at least one thing you do every day that takes advantage of your unique capabilities and qualities!  Find out the strengths of the people with which you spend time and talk about how you can improve your communication based on each other’s needs.  I hope that what you discover will increase your self-awareness and improve the quality of your communication and relationships.  Here’s to becoming our best selves!

-Marissa

Bio PIc

Marissa is currently completing her Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy from California State University, Northridge.  Her primary instrument is piano, but she enjoys playing guitar and violin as well as singing.  Throughout her time in Northridge, Marissa participated in a wide variety of volunteer and work experiences, including leading weekly music hour in a local class of first graders with autism and serving as a Music Activities Counselor at Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a summer camp for children and teens with cancer and their families, for three summers.  She also served as President of CSUN’s music therapy department student club, The Music Therapy Association of Northridge, where she coordinated campus and community events promoting and advocating for music therapy.

Marissa enjoys the creative process involved in working with clients and desires to use the mediums of both music and art to aid individuals in pursuing their personal growth and realizing their potential.  Marissa’s desire to make music and holistic wellness accessible to all people led her to create Thrive – a program based in Mozambique, Africa that uses music to promote well-being in the lives of Mozambican youth. She traveled to Mozambique in 2015 to launch the program, and is currently in the process of adapting it into a sustainable program that channels the cultural pillar of music into a vehicle for community development, emotional growth and support, and practice skill building goals.

“Some of my earliest and sweetest memories of my childhood are of my grandmother and mother sharing in the joy of making music together. From this young age, I learned to appreciate music and the unique modality it became for me to express myself, communicate, and connect with others. After learning about music therapy and realizing the rich diversity of the field, I was excited to dive into a career that is centered around connecting with others and growing together. It is such a joy and privilege to be able to invest in people’s lives through the medium of music and discover our human potential together.”

Kristin Hurley is currently pursuing her Bachelors of Arts in Music Therapy from California State University, Northridge, where her primary instrument is flute. Kristin has been actively involved in the community by volunteering as a music companion at Rady Children’s Hospital, Seasons Hospice of Los Angeles, various geriatrics facilities and at various elementary schools working with children with specials needs. Starting in 2009, when Kristin successfully completed the Music Together Teaching Certification developed by the Center for Music and Young Children, Princeton, New Jersey, her principal focus has been in Early Childhood Music. However, through practicum, Kristin gained experience in working with various populations such as; adults with traumatic brain injury, children with special needs including; autism, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities

Moving onto college, Kristin initially began to study the prerequisites for Nursing while taking a few music classes here and there. After just one semester of college and discovering the field of Music Therapy, Kristin decided to combine her love of music and her desire to heal. Kristin was determined to transfer to California State University, Northridge and study Music Therapy. Kristin’s first experience with music and children with special needs was in the cancer unit of San Diego’s Rady Children’s hospital. Kristin was invited to volunteer her time and music at the department’s monthly birthday celebration. Kristin had no prior experience to working with children with special needs but Kristin was over taken by her natural tendency to nurture as she lovingly brought the joy of music to the children of Rady Children’s hospital. It was after this experience that Kristin knew that music is for everyone and that she had found where she was meant to be.

“My love of music began about seventeen years ago when my aunt gave me my first flute and I began playing in my middle school band. The role that music played in my life began to transform into shaping who I am today. It is in music where I find strength, joy and healing and it is music, love and education that drives my passion to promote well-being in the lives of others.”

Headshot 5-11-15

Tara is currently a Master’s/Equivalency student in Music Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX. Her main instruments are voice and piano. She graduated Cum Laude from Texas Wesleyan University with her Bachelor’s in Music Education in 2012. While attending Texas Wesleyan, Tara was actively involved in multiple choirs, opera productions, and the national music fraternity Sigma Alpha Iota (President in 2010-2011). Tara has many years experience teaching private piano and voice lessons, as well as leading a Kindermusik class through the Music Academy of Denton. But it was music therapy that truly touched her life and sparked a passion she knew she had to pursue. Tara is excited to be completing her internship with The Music Therapy Center of California and hopes to continue growing in her knowledge and passion for music therapy.